Dueling With Darkness
by Phoenix Ride
Summary: Times get dangerous for our favorite thief as Duke struggles to come to terms with his dark side, and Asteroth comes to take his revenge. Will Wildwing and the others manage to save Duke and bring him back, or has the good inside him already lost to the dark? Find Out! Please Read, Review, and Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: A Wizard's Rage

**Dueling With Darkness**

 **By: Phoenix Ride**

 **Ch.1: A Wizard's Rage**

Cold eyes watched as thunder roared, staring into the depths of a crystal ball, that stood still, clutched in a dragon's hand. The hand was made of dark grey stone, carved into the floor of this wicked temple where Asteroth and his ancestors had ruled for years.

Asteroth, the dreaded Lord of the Red Dragon, and heir to the Dark Zone throne, was once known as the powerful wizard in the magical realms. But now, all that great power was lost, and the sorcerer could do nothing but revel in the despair of his defeats.

The crystal orb revealed all, displaying the moments like movies in its mist.

There went the time he had taken the throne from Prince Borg, humiliatingly brought to end by the assistance of some feathered fowl. Those same irksome creatures had interfered once again, when Asteroth appeared to take revenge by destroying their world.

It was during that second attempt that his amulet had been destroyed and his power lost. Now, he could no longer cast very deadly spells, and his rule for dominance was gone. Now, only one person could dare lead the Dark Zone.

"Troubles brother?" said a nasty voice, sneaking in.

Asteroth turned to see his younger sibling suddenly enter the room, his blue eyes frozen like ice, and hair as black as Asteroth's beard.

"Ramo" said Asteroth, looking towards his brother " come to laugh at an old man's fate."

"Don't insult me brother" said Ramo mockingly " even though your ignorant and powerless I'll love you still. You were the one who left to conquer the dimensions alone. Overconfidence…this is why you were destined to fail."

"Father always did admire your talents best" growled Asteroth in his throat " but victory would have been mine if not for these beasts getting in my way."

"Yes" said Ramo, looking towards the crystal orb " the ducks. Such a pity that you have no power left to take revenge, especially against the one drake that was responsible for both of your fails."

With that said, Asteroth looked back at the orb, seeing what his brother meant. The grey-feathered fowl wielding a sword, he was the one responsible for both of his defeats. He was the one who had taken Asteroth's power from him. He was the one the sorcerer should kill.

"Yes him" growled Asteroth to his brother with disdain " he's the one who should suffer dearly for my pain, but, like you said brother, I no longer have the power to take my revenge."

"But I do" said Ramo, smirking evilly " if it would please you brother, I can help you get your revenge."

"Really?" said Asteroth, a bit skeptical about the deal " You would…destroy him for me?"

"Destroy him" said Ramo vaguely " or…have him serve us."


	2. Chapter 2: Monster Art

**Ch.2: Monster Art**

"Run! Run!" Duke thought as heavy breaths pumped from his chest.

The grey-feathered duck had no idea where he was running to in this pitch darkness, only knowing that he had to run, or else something terrible would catch to him from behind.

Sweat poured off Duke's feathers as he ran even deeper and deeper through the shadows. The feeling of being hunted never left his mind as he continued to sprint.

Then, suddenly, the ground shook and shattered and he fell, plunging into the fire-lit abyss. The sound of someone's frantic voice started calling his name.

"Duke! Duke! Come on man! Wake up!"

In a second, Duke's mind flashed awake, and he woke up in his room, the nightmare still playing fresh in his mind.

"Eh, it was just a dream," said Duke to himself, and then got to answer Nosedive who was still pounding on the door. Moments later, the teen, blonde drake could be seen as the door slid open wide.

"About time man!" said Nosedive once he could see Duke. " And I thought Grin was a sound sleeper. Klegghorn called. He wants to see us right away."

"Sounds urgent" said Duke, grabbing his saber " let's go!"

* * *

Moments later, the whole Mighty Ducks team was gathered together in Klegghorn's office. Wildwing stood at the head of the group and immediately started asking Klegghorn about the case.

"So what is it Chief?" asked the duck.

"Robbery…or at least that's what it looked like at first" said Klegghorn, throwing down some photos on his desk. "Vandalism, that's what I call it! Look at all these stores! Each one! Their insides completely torn apart!"

"And no missing loot?" asked Mallory.

"Not a thing taken!" said Klegghorn glancing at the female duck. " If something were then I could find a reasonable motive for this. But this so random it makes my brain hurt!"

"Do you any idea who's causing it?" asked Wildwing, picking up one of the photographs.

"That's the strange thing" said Klegghorn " in the last store there was a security camera watching the whole thing, but the footage in it makes less sense than the attacks."

"Why?" asked Tanya.

"Let me load up the video and you can see for yourselves," said Klegghorn, typing a few buttons in on his keyboard before the video popped up. The ducks watched as the movie played.

In fuzzy black and white, the inside of the furniture store stood clear. For a second, nothing seemed to interrupt the still image, and then, like a flash, four figures suddenly sped by fast.

"Whoa" said Duke " not even Dragaunus and his goons move that fast."

"It gets weirder," said Klegghorn, and they focused their attention back on the video.

Fast-forwarding just a bit, the ducks soon saw three of the mysterious figures busy tearing up the back of the store. The poor furniture never stood a chance against their claws and teeth.

"Hey, where did that fourth guy go?" asked Nosedive leaning closer to the screen.

Raah! The fourth creature suddenly appeared, its ugly, demon face onscreen for one second, before it lunged and ate the camera whole.

"Whoa!" said Nosedive, jumping back with fright " Give me a heart attack why don't ya?!"

"Well" said Wildwing, turning his eyes from the video " at least we know it isn't Dragaunus."

"Don't know" said Mallory " he usually has his hands in things like this,"

"But tearing up furniture stores?" asked Nosedive in disbelief.

"Kid's right" said Duke " this isn't his normal MO."

"I agree" said Tanya, pointing to the screen " These creature aren't like anything we've ever seen before and…,"

Before the yellow-feathered scientist could finish, Klegghorn's phone suddenly rang, and the Chief angrily picked up his end.

"What is it?!" shouted Klegghorn into the phone. His face grew even more red with rage. "What? The museum!"

He slammed down the receiver.

"What is it?" asked Wildwing concerned.

"Those blasted beasts are at it again" said Klegghorn " tearing apart the Natural History Museum downtown!"

"Let's go ducks!" called Wildwing to his team, and they immediately ran out to go stop the crime.

* * *

Minutes later, the Mighty Ducks arrived and ran into the museum. All at once, they could see the chaos as these demon-like beasts started tearing things apart.

Two of them were busy feeding on the exhibits, while the others focused on destroying the ceiling and the walls.

"I'll go for the one near the roof," said Duke, shooting out his wrist grapple so that he could climb up faster.

"We'll take care of the rest," said Wildwing, as he and the rest of his teammates charged.

Mallory and Nosedive instantly had trouble cornering their little fiend. The dark creature was zipping around the dino exhibit like there was no tomorrow, ripping up skeletons and sending a shower of bones towards the ducks heads.

"Whoa" said Nosedive, ducking and couldn't resist urge to quote a quip " Looks like this guy has a bone to pick with us."

"Yeah" said Mallory, readying her puck blaster " well I'm getting a little tired of his games."

With that said, Mallory shot her puck gun, aiming at one of the fancy light fixtures that hung from the ceiling. Nosedive yelled as the fixture fell down, and landed right on top of the demon, trapping it in its cylinder shape.

"Alright we've got him!" yelled Nosedive excitedly " Hope everyone is having as good luck as we are."

* * *

Unfortunately, good luck, was the last thing on the others minds.

In a room where ancient art was displayed, Grin had managed to grab one of the creatures, before slamming it down hard on the ground, making it disappear into smoke and dust. The third one wasn't going down so easy.

Using its arms like a professional baseball pitcher, the nasty, little demon flung several objects towards Wildwing and Tanya with deadly aim. Wildwing had put up his shield to protect him and his teammate from the assault.

"I've never seen so much disrespect for the modern arts," quipped Tanya to cool down her fear.

"Hold on tight Tanya" Wildwing told the yellow duck " I got an idea."

With that said, Wildwing started to move in closer to the demon, still keeping up his shield as a barrier as Tanya followed closely behind. The closer Wildwing got, the less the demon threw, growing worried as the duck edged closer and closer.

Seeing that his opponent had suddenly become unsure, Wildwing dropped down, erasing the shield, while Tanya used her Omni-tool and fired. Soon the demon was nothing but dust.

"Well" said Wildwing, standing up " that should take care of the ones down here."

"What about the one that Duke was chasing?" asked Tanya.

"Don't worry" said Wildwing " if there's anyone who can handle himself, it's Duke."

* * *

At that moment now, Duke was cursing his luck. This little whatever-it-is he chasing was fast as well as smart.

From the moment the grey-feathered duck had landed on the balcony, the chase was on. The little monster had luckily been able to dodge each of Duke's sword strikes, and even countered back with its fangs and claws, forcing Duke to take a defensive stance.

Right now, the creep had managed to slash the back of Duke's left leg, before leaping up to a giant, crystal chandelier, laughing at Duke with a grin.

"So, you're going to play dirty now huh?" said Duke, following the beast up to its chandelier perch.

It wasn't the most steady fighting platform, but Duke knew better than complain about the terrain.

Jabbing his sword at the demon, Duke missed as the creature leaped, hanging onto the chain that attached the chandelier to the ceiling above. With little warning, the demon suddenly bit clean through the chain, and jumped onto the ceiling as the chandelier started to fall.

Acting fast, Duke jumped up and grabbed the last bit of chain that was attached to the roof, as the chandelier crashed and shattered against the floor.

A huge sigh of relief went through Duke's mind, only to be brought back to reality when he noticed the demon chew his way to the top of the museum. The monster had made it outside, and Duke wasn't willing to let it get far.

Using his wrist-grapple, Duke climbed his way through the hole, and landed on top of the roof. The demon had vanished, but Duke still had his sword out, ready in case of attack.

"Where could he be?" thought Duke a few seconds later as he approached the roof's end.

The street was far down below, and empty as well. Just as Duke was about to consider that the demon had escaped, the little monster suddenly jumped out, growling, and making Duke turn to the side.

The beast suddenly exploded, causing the duck to choke on a cloud of thick, black smoke. Disorientation flowed quickly into Duke's head, and the grey-feathered mallard lost sense to where he stood.

One wrong step, and Duke was suddenly off the roof, plummeting straight towards the ground, towards the street, dozens of feet below.


	3. Chapter 3: Where's Duke?

**Ch.3: Where's Duke?**

"If there's anyone who can handle himself, it's Duke."

Just as Wildwing finished saying that to reassure that Duke was probably doing well in his fight, Nosedive and Mallory suddenly came in, excitement showing on their faces.

"Dudes!" shouted Nosedive " We've caught one of the creeps! That demon has been defeated by the light."

"Good work Baby Bro" said Wildwing, smiling towards his little brother " When we get back to the Pond, we'll analyze it and...,"

Before Wildwing could finish, a humongous crash was suddenly heard, making the whole team jump with shock.

"What was that?" asked Mallory, stunned.

"Sounds like something collapsed," stated Tanya.

"Let's go check it out," said Wildwing, and immediately ran towards the sound, with the rest of his team following behind.

Moments later, when the ducks reached the source of the crash, it didn't take long for them to find out the cause. A giant, crystal chandelier lay shattered on the floor, broken into a million pieces.

"Whoa," said Nosedive, as he observed the crash.

"What could have done this?" asked Mallory.

"Don't know" said Wildwing, leaning down to see the damage at a closer view " but it looks like this chain has been cut. Someone wanted this thing to fall."

"Duke?" suggested Tanya, knowing that the grey drake was still missing.

"Maybe," Wildwing pondered.

"Look!" suddenly said Grin, pointing up to the ceiling.

All the Mighty Ducks turned their gaze to see what their larger teammate was looking at, and quickly noticed that the chandelier wasn't the only damage caused in the room.

"A hole in the roof...," Mallory said.

"...far away from where the chandelier was," Wildwing finished, then continued " Duke's fight must have been taken outside, we have to...,"

Before Wildwing could finish, the sound of police sirens suddenly pierced the air, signaling that Klegghorn and his men had finally arrived.

"First we'll have to explain things to the police" Wildwing thought grimly in his thoughts "Duke will just have to wait a little longer. If there's any trouble, he'll call."

* * *

However, at that moment, Duke wasn't really in the speaking mood. He was in the running kind. Once again, fleeing through the dark, with no idea who or what was after him and why.

Evil laughter seemed to echo through the silence, as a white light pounced up to blind the one-eyed drake.

"Ah! Aah!" Duke screamed, and then found himself waking up, back in the real world.

His body ached and his blurred, but only for moment as everything slowly came back into focus. Immediately he tried to place where he was, all the while thinking about how he could have arrived here.

"I..fell off the roof..." said Duke, sitting up and looked at his hands " then...,"

"Well" suddenly said a stern, female voice " it's about time you woke up."

Duke turned to see an old woman suddenly looking at him from a few feet away. Her hair was grey with age, and her blue eyes shown, carrying mischief that suggested that she was a woman who wouldn't be fooled very easily.

Duke had many questions right then, but settled down to just one.

"Who are you?" he asked the woman.

"Who am I?" said the woman " Who else would I be?! The woman who saved your life now that's what! Honestly, people just don't have any respect for the elderly anymore."

"Sorry" said Duke, shaking his hands in defense " I didn't mean any disrespect by it. Where are we anyway?"

"Underground" said the woman, waving out to the room " in the old museum, right before the new one was built on top of it. This place has become a safe spot for many homeless folk now, since I found the entrance to tunnel that leads down here years ago. I was on my out to get supplies, when I heard you thumping against the doorway. You're lucky that fall didn't kill you."

"Yeah" said Duke, feeling his ribs " although I think I might feel sore for awhile though."

"Well then" said the woman " you'll just have to spend the night here."

"Spend the night?" said Duke stunned " But I can't, I...,"

"Won't get better unless you stay close with someone who knows medical care" said the woman, looking to Duke " Besides, the doorway leading down here is probably closed off by now, blocked by those uncaring drivers dropping cargo into the alley."

Duke sighed, it looked like he was truly stuck. And he couldn't even contact his team because, judging by the empty space on his wrist, his communicator had met with a tragic accident during his fall, which his caretaker clearly thought was junk and threw away.

"Hope they don't miss me to much," Duke thought in his mind, and wondered what his team was doing now.

* * *

Back at the Pond, Wildwing sighed as he and his team finally walked in after explaining the whole museum event to Klegghorn. The entire afternoon had been wasted away, before they set out to look for Duke.

His communicator didn't pick up, so that meant there was trouble, and the tracer failed to show where was.

Wildwing sat down and shook his head, desperate for an answer. The others just looked on and studied their leader quietly, knowing how worried he was.

Soon after, Mallory left with Tanya to help examine the creature they had caught in the lab, while Nosedive and Grin stayed in the room Wildwing was in.

"Cheer up man" said Nosedive, throwing an arm around his bro " we'll find him! This is Duke we're talking about."

"His aura is strong," confirmed Grin.

"That's what I think" said Wildwing " but it's strange for him to just disappear."

"Man you really idolize him don't ya?" said Nosedive to his bro " Just like you did Canard."

"I only hope I don't lose him the same way," said Wildwing.


	4. Chapter 4: The Dark Artifact

**Ch.4: The Dark Artifact**

Meanwhile, back down under the museum, in the shadow of its past, Duke was slowly growing used to this strange, underground world where the homeless people thrived.

If you looked around carefully, you could see places where sturdy shelters had been made, and even smell the light whiff of food drifting in the air. Grownups talked and kids laughed, Duke grinned, all this and more was beginning to remind him of home.

Back on Puckworld, the Brotherhood of Blade had shared the same sense of community these homeless folk did. Providing for each other, protecting each other. No task was to small to make sure all their thieving family continued to thrive.

"Heh, I sometimes miss those days" thought Duke to himself " even though they were tough, I was to be part of the Brotherhood."

But the past was behind him now. He was proud to a be part of his new team. He only wished there was to let everyone know that he was still alright.

Suddenly, the grey mallard's thoughts were interrupted, when something unexpected bumped into his leg. Looking down to where he felt the bump, the drake smiled when he saw a young, brown-haired kid rubbing his head on the floor.

"Oro" spoke up the old woman who had been showing Duke around " How many times have I told you not to go into the deeper chambers?"

"It's nothing to worry about" said the kid, who looked no younger than eight-years old " I didn't go very far. Sorry for bumping into to you Mr. Duck."

"That's Duke kid" said Duke, helping the boy up " Duke L'Orange. And don't worry about it, I'm fine. So, I guess you're part of this community to huh?"

"Heh, if you can even call it that," said Oro.

"Hush now!" snapped the old woman " I'll have to deal with you later. Show our guest to somewhere he can stay, and don't me catch you going into the caverns again!"

"Yes mam" said Oro sourly, as the woman walked away " This way, follow me."

"She your grandma kid?" asked Duke.

"Victoria? Nah!" said Oro " She just likes to boss me around. It's always the same thing. Stay away from the deeper caverns! You'll get lost! Don't you know…Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah! This is a museum! There's exciting things here! Why should I stay in the same, boring old room when I have a chance to explore."

"Ha!" laughed Duke " you're adventurous kiddo. Tell you what, while I'm down here, maybe we can take the chance to explore."

"Really?" said Oro " That would great! But we need to stay out of the West Wing. Nothing but evil lies in there."

"Evil huh?" said Duke, looking to where his new friend pointed.

What kind of evil could be hiding down here? Did it have anything to do with those freaks from above?

Duke doubted it, but still, could he really take the chance? Maybe this West Wing needed to be explored, and whatever evil in it, needed to be kicked out.

* * *

Soft snores echoed from a hollow chamber as Duke slept, dreamless in his temporarily provided home. It was long way until morning, where hopefully the museum truck would finally move, and Duke could make it back to his friends.

Suddenly, a small noise woke Duke up, and he looked out the window to see Oro directly heading towards the West Wing.

Didn't the kid himself say that place was dangerous? Why was he heading there?

Curious to what could be going on, Duke grabbed his sword and went, sneakingly following the young kid's trail.

The West Wing was downright creepy alright. Remember that horror castle from Beauty and the Beast? It looked pretty similar to that, only more dark and much more evil.

"Oro," Duke whispered hoarsely, hoping the kid would stop and hear.

He had completely lost the kid's trail, and now nothing more but silence greeted his ears. Duke was lost. Where should he go now? A dark glow from up ahead became his answer.

Creeping closer, Duke saw that it was some kind of artifact, a dark gem that seemed to be calling him by name.

"Take me! Take me!" it screamed, and the thief instincts inside Duke flared.

Before the mallard could even think twice, he gripped the stone in his hand. A shock went through his spine, his muscles started to burn, he yelled out once and then crashed to the floor. The stone had disappeared, dissolving into a mark on his palm.

"Excellent" hissed out a voice from the shadows, as the kid named Oro looked at the unconscious Duke. " It has begun."


End file.
